Will Japan’s Kishida call snap election amid G7 success, improved South Korea ties?
- The successful summit in Hiroshima may tempt PM Kishida to lock in improved ratings, say analysts, amid an overall ‘feel-good sensation’
- Japanese have also witnessed a better relationship with South Korea, at a time when actions of neighbours China, Russia, North Korea are worrying many people
Kishida’s rebound has been sudden and is the result of a series of social and political developments that have gone in his favour, according to observers. With uncertainty an inevitability in politics, analysts add that it would be wise to take advantage of the spike in support for his policies before they can be derailed by circumstances.
Suggestions that Kishida was considering calling an election have rumbled around the Diet for several months, but have taken on new energy since his public support began to rise from around 33 per cent in the four months until February.
“It’s fair to say that the G7 leaders gathering in Hiroshima has been a great moment for Japan for several reasons,” said Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.
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For Japanese people, it is symbolic that a meeting that focused so much on regional and global security and the threat posed by nuclear weapons took place in the first city in the world to have been the target of an atomic attack, she said.